Riley is here!!!

Sorry it took so long to update about Riley. But, as mom's, you know how little sleep you get with a newborn and I feel like a walking zombie right now. :) We tried to update in the hospital but for some reason the hospital had blogspot blocked, but not facebook or hotmail. It was strange! Anyways, meet RILEY ELAINE...

Reece patiently waiting for Riley... by momma's side. He was watching Dora and SpongeBob.

My First glimpse of Riley... I didnt get this moment with Reece b/c he had troubles.

Our first semi-family photo... we were so relieved!!

Daddy - Daughter bonding time...

She has her daddy's long, skinny fingers.

Born: November 11th @ 11:50am

6lbs, 3oz - 19in

Brown eyes

Brown hair
Beautiful skin tone

She looks just like her big brother Reece and her daddy. However, she is very hairy right now and mom said I looked just like her as a newborn. She favors my baby picture alot but I didnt know this until I was at mom's and Kerry and I both saw my pic on the wall. Crazy! I guess you can say our kids are like perfect mixtures of us. :)

Labor and Delievery went fabulous. I honestly couldnt ask for it to go any better. I was in labor with Reece for 14 1/2 hours... with Riley only 4 hours!!! The only problem I had was I was so swollen that the nurses couldnt reach my veins doing my IV. So I have massive bruises on my arms from them trying. It was a whole lot more painful than the epidural. I had the greatest nurse Charla... she was like a mom in the delivery room. She made everything so easy and smooth. My dr... Dr. Simmons, devoted his day to us in the hospital b/c he was so worried about my pre-eclampsia. He had his appointments at the office but I saw him 3 times before Riley was born in a four hour period. He was wonderful!!!

Reece meeting Riley..

First time meeting her... he was so proud!

Fresh out of the bath...



Her first bottle - Reece got to feed it to her... thats all he wanted to do the whole 37 weeks.

He would just lay on my bed and look at her and talk to her.

Reece happened to be at the hospital b/c he didnt get there until after 10am and Riley was born shortly after that. So, we wanted him to meet her FIRST. Kerry went to get him and they walked in I said "Reece, Rileys here" and his words were "SHE CAME OUT!!" He loves her... he loves to help feed her bottles. He does get jealous at times b/c she requires so much attention. But we notice pretty quickly and do whatever to make him feel special.

He loves to hold her hand and talk to her while we change her diaper... this usually keeps her really calm and not fussy.

We had to stay in the hospital 4 days b/c Riley came down with Jaundice. Her pediatrician was worried about her b/c she was so tiny and wanted her under hospital equipment to help get her jaundice count down. So, Riley had to stay in an incubator for 24 hours. We couldnt take her out at all, other than to feed and change diapers. It was so hard on me b/c she just screamed the whole time. We finally had to send her to the nursery b/c I couldnt let her stay in there crying. It made me cry. Needless to say after 24 hours the doctor released us to go home and we jetted out of there.

Riley in her incubator after she adjusted to it.

Holding her paci in...




Riley has reflux pretty bad... regular enfamil makes her stomach cramp so she got put on Nutramagin. Its $27.00 for a small can of formula. However, my milk finally came in enough that I have been able to keep up with her for now. Pray that it continues to do so, b/c we cant afford the formula she would have to be on.

Riley on her changing table.

Our favorite picture of her.



She turned 12 days old today. She is growing... but she is still very tiny. 6lbs is little!!! Im curious to see how much she has gained at her appointment tuesday. Im gonna do a post later this week to compare Riley and Reece's newborn pictures. They are almost identical... except Reece had/has chunky thighs and a round booty. hehe. Ok, well this is enough for now. I promise to update more now... ill have kerry keep me accountable.

Asleep in our bed, she looks so tiny!

All the pictures below are when Riley was 11 days old.

We have a picture of Reece like this when he was 11 days old so we wanted one of Riley too.

She's facing the opposite direction of Reece.

Maternity Pics... Riley will be here Tuesday!!!

So, its way past time to update. I havent felt like doing much of anything lately... so blogging was one of the many things I need to catch up on. We decided at last minute at lunch today we wanted to do Maternity pics. So Kerry sat up the "studio" and away we went. They turned out okay... I am mega swollen in the pics. Its from the pre-eclampsia... my feet, face, and hands stay swollen. I wear my glasses only right now b/c I dont sleep much and my contacts tend to fog up.



Anyways... Riley will be here this Tuesday, Nov. 11th. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30ish so they can start inducing. Dr. said this labor shouldnt be as long as it was with Reece. I was in labor for 14 1/2 hours with Reece... I pray Riley doesnt take that long. I made it 37 weeks... which was what the doctor wanted so we did really good considering Reece was born at 35 weeks. My blood pressure has been REALLY high lately, part of the pre-eclampsia. Its been high the whole pregnancy but gotten worse the past few weeks. Dr. Simmons said we had to get Riley out this coming week... we were pushing our limits. He had me do a stress test and ultrasound last week. Stress test turned out good... Rileys heart rate went up everytime I had a contraction. Which meant she was able to go through labor/delivery. The ultrasound showed them she had plenty of fluid around her still so there was no emergency c-section needed right now. It also showed that she was breathing on her own and active. I was sad... b/c I didnt get to watch the ultrasound. Kerry and Reece did, but since the tech needed to watch everything Riley did she had to keep the screen facing her. She did give us two pics... but Riley is so big that its hard to tell what anything is since it wasnt a 3D ultrasound.



Ok, this is the place to check for pics Tuesday/Wednesday and so on. Kerry will update this first with pics of Riley. Please remember us in your prayers this week. Remember Reece too... he is in for a HUGE awakening. We are taking him to Chuck E Cheese tomorrow night as a final HOORAH of being an only child. Then he is spending the night with Kerry's parents since we have to be at the hospital so early tuesday. Im sure I will cry when I drop him off... Im so emotional these days.

Thanks for all your love, support, and gifts this entire pregnancy. If it wasnt for family, friends, and a church like we have we wouldnt be where we are. We love you all and know Riley will grow up loving you like we do.

My guys... they are so much alike. God gave me the best of the best!!